Single, Informed, and Confirmed Solos Opt-in

There appears to be a lot of arguments as to the best of these different solos email opt-in programs. The best thing to do is to study the different options and use the one that best suits your business. Buying solos are one of the good example of this. You need to be very careful here because the last thing you want is to be considered a spammer.

Remember, if your email is thought to be spam or your messages get caught in other people’s spam filters, you will be blocked from sending future emails and may even have your email account shut down.

Let’s then define the different opt-in options

Single opt-in – The viewer has given you permission to send him email solos, newsletters and special offers you might have. Up until a few years ago everyone did their email marketing campaigns in this way.

Notified opt-ins – These go a little farther. The prospect will receive an email from you stating that you have added them to your email list, and they will be receiving notification emails of offers, solos, the newsletter, etc. It may also inform them that if they do not want to receive email from you, they can unsubscribe to your list by following a certain link.

Double opt-ins – This type of opt-in just verifies it one more time. The visitor signs up to be notified of special offers, then the visitor is sent an email asking them to complete their sign up process by clicking a link within the email, and sometimes by replying to that email. After they reply, their name will be added to the opt-in list.

Studies have shown that businesses that used double opt-ins with solos have fewer bounced back mail, but their lists are much smaller than other opt-in lists. Although smaller, this does not necessarily mean “not good.”

Advantages And Disadvantages To Single solos Opt-Ins

Among the advantages of this type of opt-in is the fact that it is an easy sign up method. The opt-in list tends to grow as much as 33% more than other opt-in list types.

The disadvantage of this type of list is that you might receive complaints and some subscribers may call it spamming.

Advantages And Disadvantages To Notified Opt-In lists

There is a fast sign up rate and it is not likely that this can be called spamming. The disadvantage lies in that you might receive a few complaints, and some viewers might call it spam even though they have been notified that they have signed up to receive your offers.

Advantages And Disadvantages To Double Opt-In Systems

By using confirmed opt-in systems you have very little chance of your offers being called spam. Your advertising value is a lot more, but your opt-in list is much smaller. You may lose about half of your subscribers because they did not confirm wanting to be added to the list. Smaller lists, however, do usually mean lower hosting costs if you are using an external company to host your list for your solos.

Which Option Should You Choose?

The option is really yours but many sites are changing to the notified opt-in or the double opt-in, as a way of minimizing uninterested parties, or people that are not authorized to sign up. By using either of these two opt-in options, people will not sign up friends, or family members, without first getting their authorization. This way the end subscriber cannot accuse the company of spamming them. By using a double opt-in, the user has to click a link in the message to confirm the subscription.

Then they cannot claim that they are receiving spam from you, since they confirmed their wish to receive your newsletter or offer.

The problem with the double opt-in system is that the subscription rate will be lower than the other systems. In fact, it may be as much as 25% lower than other opt-in systems. The reason is that most people forget to click the accept link or are too lazy to go to their email box right then and forget later. They may even see your email and assume that they are subscribed, because they never open the message to see what it says inside.

From the situations you can tell why the subscription rate is much lower than with other opt-in systems. People are not dumb, it’s just that everybody is very busy and just don’t have the time to pay attention to every little detail.

The benefits of the confirmed opt-in are many. You won’t have to deal with people accusing you of spamming them. You won’t have a lot of bounced back email, offers, or newsletters. In confirmed opt-ins you have lots of recorded information and proof that viewers want to be on your mailing list. Besides when you finally do have your confirmed opt-in list, it will be more valuable than either of the other opt-in options. Advertisers value a confirmed opt-in list more than they do either a notified opt-in system, or a single opt-in system. So if you intend to sell advertising in your newsletter, you will want to have a confirmed opt-in mailing list.

All Three Systems Work

When you decide on the single opt-in method you need to add a line or sentence in your solos that will easily allow people to opt-out of the list. You need to do this in every message that you send, because it is required by law.

When using a double opt-in system, you should make your email notification very simple, so that everyone understands it, and knows what they have signed up to receive. You should also make sure that every time you send an email ad to your subscribers you provide them with a way to unsubscribe from your list. Just a little clause that goes something like: Subject: Adam, Greetings from site4u.com’s Newsletter

Hello Adam,

We appreciate the time you have taken to subscribe with www.site4u.com. Once a week we will send you an email that will provide you some of the most resourceful information related to our Industry. The newsletter will also include simple but great ideas that will let you know our products can be used effectively.

If you would like to view a few of our previous issues, you can visit: www.site4u.com/archivedissues

If you wish to unsubscribe to our newsletter please click on the following link: https://www.me.com/unsubscribe

Once again, Thanks a lot for subscribing to our newsletter and hope you have an enlightening experience in reading it.

Wish you luck,

(Newsletter Owner’s Name)

P.S. – Since you are a first time subscriber with our newsletter, you are given a 20% off on the first product you purchase. To find out how, visit us at https://www.site4u.com

How To Recover Your Lost Subscribers?

There are many ways to recover those lost subscribers when you decide to use the double opt-in system. Some companies have reported that they have recovered as much as 10% of their 25% loss of subscriptions.

Set up an auto-responder before doing solos that contacts people that do not confirm the subscription process after a certain amount of time. A good time frame is 3 to 4 days. An auto-responder is an email message that is sent out automatically. The message informs the reader that they still need to take some kind of action before they will receive anything from you.

This one auto-responder email will help recover most of those forgotten subscriptions, and that could be as much as 25% of forgotten subscriptions. If you use email marketing programs talked about in this book the recovery email will be done for you automatically, just set how often and how many times you want to send the user a reminder to validate their email account.

Final Thoughts

If you follow the tips I have set forth in the chapter you will be able to make a profitable opt-in list which will bring you profits in the long run. I estimate that using these tips you will be able to convert between 10% and 20% of your viewers into subscribers.

Remember write an offer in your solos that makes your prospects want to give you their email address. Emphasize the benefits of joining your list and receiving your offers.

Give your subscribers something valuable in exchange for their email address; it will make them feel more valued and important. Offer something of value like a free ebook, free newsletter, even a free download or program in solo ads.

You can increase your opt-in list even when you don’t have a lot of traffic in a variety of different ways. You can advertise through groups or clubs, industry newsletters, e-zines, classified advertising and solos. Selling things on eBay will also help you grow your opt-in list.

Decide on the type of opt-in system you want to use, whether it be single opt-in, notified opt-in, or confirmed opt-in methods. Each method has its own benefits and its own disadvantages.

Remember that it is going to take some time on doing email solos, and probably some money to build a good opt-in list, but once it is done, it will be invaluable to you. Every email you receive means you have one more potential customer, and the more customers you have the better standing your business will have.